Trump Questions the Core of NATO: Mutual Defense, Including Montenegro

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President Trump during a meeting with members of Congress at the White House on Tuesday. He has long raised questions about the future of the United States’ commitment to NATO.CreditTom Brenner for The New York Times

In an interview that aired Tuesday evening with the Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Mr. Trump appeared to suggest that the NATO mutual defense compact is confusing, particularly the question of why an American would have to defend a small country like Montenegro, which is more than 5,000 miles away.

Mr. Trump has long raised questions about the future of the United States’ commitment to NATO, a defense treaty that was established to stave off aggression from what was then the Soviet Union. Montenegro joined the alliance in 2017, a year after Russia plotted a coup to overthrow Montenegro’s government and replace it with one that would be hostile toward NATO.

On Tuesday, Mr. Carlson asked Mr. Trump: “So, let’s say Montenegro — which joined last year — is attacked, why should my son go to Montenegro to defend it from attack? Why is that?”

The answer, which Mr. Trump did not articulate in the interview, can be found in Article 5 of the treaty: If one NATO country is attacked, all NATO countries will be considered under attack as well and will join in defense.

The president continued, “Montenegro is a tiny country with very strong people.”

He added: “They have very aggressive people. They may get aggressive, and congratulations, you’re in World War III, now I understand that — but that’s the way it was set up.”

“By attacking Montenegro & questioning our obligations under NATO, the President is playing right into Putin’s hands,” Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, wrote in a Twitter post on Wednesday.

Montenegro has not been a country Mr. Trump typically discusses. During a NATO conference last year, video footage showed Mr. Trump pushing past the Montenegrin prime minister, Dusko Markovic, as he made his way to the front of a photo opportunity of NATO country leaders.

Mr. Trump has been accused of vastly misunderstanding how NATO works, and he has distanced himself from the agreement by saying it was in place before he became president. Mr. Trump’s main contention with NATO has been his belief that the United States pays more for defense than other member countries.

“It was very unfair. They weren’t paying, so we’re not only are we paying for most of it, but they weren’t even paying and we’re protecting them,” Mr. Trump said to Mr. Carlson during an interview taped on Monday and aired Tuesday evening. “Add that to your little equation on Montenegro.”

To be sure, respected national security officials in past administrations have cautioned about giving NATO membership to new, smaller nations in ways that might not actually increase the security of the United States or the alliance as a whole.

Robert M. Gates, who served as defense secretary for former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, made the case in 2008 for the importance of an unwavering commitment to Article 5 of the alliance — the mutual defense agreement binding all NATO partners.

But, without mentioning any specific nations, he noted the potential danger of new members entering the alliance and bringing in increased risks. At the time, there was a debate over whether Georgia should be part of NATO. Russia and Georgia fought a war in 2008, and Russia has occupied parts of the country since.

“We need to be careful about the commitments we make, but we must be willing to keep the commitments once made,” Mr. Gates said. “In the case of NATO, Article 5 must mean what it says. As the allied troops fighting in Afghanistan can attest, NATO is not a talk shop nor a Renaissance Weekend on steroids.”

Montenegro, once part of the former Yugoslavia, has become more western since the 1990s, much to the disdain of Moscow. The country of about 640,000 is not considered a military power. But Montenegro controls a strategic coastline where warships can dock between Gibraltar and eastern Turkey.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A8 of the New York edition with the headline: President Questions NATO’s Mission of Mutual Defense. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe